patten



(No Model.)

J. s. PATTEN.v SELF OILING AXLE BEARING.

N0.- 422,15o. j Patentedfeb. 25, 1890.

y vm A TTOHNE YS UNITED STATES APATENT OFFICE.

.IAMES S. PATTEN, OE BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND EDVIN HIGGINS, OF SAME PLACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersrPatent No. 422,150, dated February 25, 1890.

V v g Application filed December 27,1889. Serial No. 335,124. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES S. PArrEN, of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented a new and Improved Self-Oiling Axle-Bearing, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in. self-oiling axle-bearings; and the object of my invention is to provide an axle-bearing that will be economical in use, simple in con-` st-ruction, and that will be self-oiling when connected with a reservoir of oil.

My invention is especially adapted for use upon all kinds of vehicles, such as carriages, stages, railway-cars, dto.; but it may bevused upon nearly all kinds of machinery, and for light or heavy bearings.

To this end my invention consists of an axle having a sliding rod working in a groove in the face of the axle and projecting through the shoulder at the end of the bearing-sur face of the axle to an oil-chamber, said rod being connected by a button with a camgroove in the face of the axle-box, so that when the axle-box is revolved the button will move in the cam-groove and slide the rod in the groove of the axle, thus pumping the oil from the oil-chamber and diffusing it over the face of the axle-bearing.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure lis a plan view of the invention with portions broken away to show the oilchamber and the sliding rod and button in the axle-box. Fig." 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same. Fig, 3 is a transverse section on the line y y of Fig. 2; Fig. 4t, a transverse section on the line :o oc of Fig. 2, looking toward the axle-box; and Fig. 5, a transverse view on the line z z of Eig. 2.

The axle A is provided with the usual shoulder a, which separates it from the bearing-surface of the spindle A', and the upper side of the axle near the shoulder oJ is provided with a recessed chamber b, which is large enough to hold a considerable quantity of oil, and is provided with a suitable cover @,Which is attached to the axle A by the screws el. The cover c is provided with a removable plug c, which screws into the top of Y the cover and which closes the hole through which oil is inserted into the chamber h. The

nects by a hole o. through the shoulder a With the oil-chamber Z9.' A cylindrical rod E, whichV is of about the same length as the axle-box B, slides in the groove g, and has pivoted to its top, near the inner end of the axle-box, a diamond-shaped button h, which enters acam-groove t' in the axle-box B. The cam-groove t' is cut in the face of the axlebox and curves spirally outwardly and inwardly thereon, as indicated by the dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2, so that as the axle-box revolves the button hwill follow the curves of the groove 'L' and impart a reciprocating motion to the rod E, to which the button is attached, causing said rod to slide back and forth in the groove g of the bearing-surface the axle-box B, the inner end of the rod E will be forced inward into the oil-chamber b, and when the button is in that part of the groove 'L' nearest the outer end of the axle box the rod E will be withdrawn from the oil-chamber into the axle-box, and as it is Withdrawn it will bring' a small quantity of oil with it, which Will be diffused by the rotary motion of the axle-box over the bearingsurface A of the axle, so that by occasionally iilling the oil-chamber with oil the nut D Will seldom need to be removed, as the action of the sliding rod E will keep the bearing parts Well lubricated.

The axle-boxB is attached to avehicle-hub in the usual manner, and if any of the parts become worn they may be easily replaced by new ones.

I have described my invention as applied to the axle of'a vehicle; but I do not confine myself to such use, as it may be applied to a great many kinds of machinery. i

When iny invention is applied to statione IOO ary machinery, the groove g and rod E are placed in the lining of the box-bearing and the cam-groove z' in the revolving shaft, so that as the shaft revolves it will actuate the button h and rod E, which, as in an axle-bearing, will connect with a stationary oil-Well, and the parts will be lubricated. It will be readily seen that in the latter case the principle of the invention is the same as if ap.- plied to an axle-bearing.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let-V ters Patent, is-

l. A self-oiling bearing consisting, essen-- tially, of an axle having-a bearing-surface at the end thereof, a Shoulder at the inner end of said bearing-surface, a chamber in the top of the axle near said shoulder, a groove in the top of said bearing-surface connecting through said shoulder with said chamber, a rod adapted to slide in said groove having a button pivoted thereto, and an axle-box having a cam-groove in its bearing-face adapted to engage said button and Vimpart a reciproeating motion to said slide-rod, substantially as described. 2. The combination, with an axle having a longitudinal groove in its bearing-surface, said groove containing a slide-rod connecting with an oil-chamber and having a button attached to its top, of an axle-box adapted to rotate upon the bearing-surface of the axle and having a cam-groove in its bearing-face adapted to engage the button on said sliderod and impart a reciprocating motion to the rod, substantially as described.

3. The combination, With a spindle having a longitudinal groove connecting With an oil-chamber, and a box for said spindle provided with a cam-groove, of arod adapted to slide in said longitudinal groove and enter the oil-chamber, and provided with a button engaging the said cam-groove, substantially as shoWn and described.

4. The combination, with the aXle- A, having oilchamber e, and bearing-surface A with groove g in the top thereof, of the rod E, button h, groove z', and axle-box B, substantially as described.

5. The combination, With the bearing-face A', having groove g, of the rod E, button h, groove z', and axle-box B, substantially as described.

JAMES S. PATTEN.

Witnesses:

JAMES O. BOBEE, HENRY HOOPER. 

